


Spare Key

by captaincastle



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Nightmares, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-15 23:57:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13624191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captaincastle/pseuds/captaincastle
Summary: Nightmare's haunt Karen's mind and Frank proves to be a bigger comfort than she realized.





	Spare Key

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting my first Kastle fics from 2016

Dreams haunted Karen. They came to her in flashes, blurry, and unintelligible. Faces of people that could hurt her. She knew how to defend herself, but every now and then the thought crept into the back of her head. And in her dreams they emerged and were hard to avoid.

She knew she was safe with Frank. He became a comfort to her, and when he wasn’t at her apartment, she found herself on edge when she was home alone. She didn’t live her life quaking in fear. She just slept with one eye open.

An exceptionally vivid nightmare woke her tonight and before she realized what she was doing, she had texted Frank. She had herself curled up under her blankets and tried to think of what to say. Her heart was racing from the dream and she couldn’t think straight. Finally she settled on “If you’re not busy, I need you.” she hoped that didn’t sound weird. She’d explain her meaning when he got there. She knew he’d come whether he was busy or not. She also knew it might be several minutes so she at least had time to plan on what exactly she was going to say.

She hit send on the text after staring at it for a few moments. Right after she hit send, she heard a buzz in the next room. Before she could process anything, a figure appeared in her bedroom doorway.

“You ok?” Karen heard Frank’s quiet rasp. She sighed with relief.

Karen clicked on her bedside lamp to look at him. Frank looked like he always did after a ‘night out’. Some cuts and bruises. Dirty jeans and big boots. He wasn’t wearing his jacket, just a grey thermal shirt. There were remnants of blood on his face, but Karen could see in the dim lighting he’d washed it off.

“Why were you in my apartment?” Karen wondered aloud more to herself than to him. He came over a lot, to crash on her couch or patch himself up, but every time he was in her home, Karen knew he was there.

Karen thought she could be mistaken, but she thought she saw him shuffle his feet a little.

“I come here a lot, ma’am. Just make sure you’re ok.”

“How’d you even get in?”

He chuckled.

“Right. Stupid question. How long have you been here tonight?”

“About an hour. I like it here. It’s quiet. But if you want me to go I’ll-”

“No. I wouldn’t have texted you if I didn’t need you.”

Frank, still standing in the doorway, started to walk towards the bed. Karen suddenly felt a little self-conscious in just her pjs (which was just some underwear and an over-sized t-shirt), but she didn’t stop him.

He sat on the edge of her bed, his weight causing her bed to shift.

“What do you need?” he asked, his eyes softening. Karen got the sense from the look on his face, that he could tell she was upset.

“I’m scared.” she whispered, “And I hate it.”

“I’m here.” he spoke quietly.

“But for how long?”

“However long you need.” Frank stood and turned off her lamp. He laid down on her small bed and pulled Karen to him.

“I don’t want to be scared anymore. I want to be brave on my own. What if you’re not always here?”

“Don’t think about later, think about now. I’m here now. And you’re braver than you think, ma’am. You’re letting me hold you. That’s pretty scary.” he teased.

Karen was still kind of curled into a ball, but when Frank’s arms wrapped around her waist, she uncurled and stretched out. Her feet slid down his jean clad legs, and she felt the tops of his boots with her toes.

“Frank?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you still wearing your boots?”

She felt him shift against her, and she heard the heavy thump of his boots fall to the floor. She giggled a little, and he tightened his grip on her.

“How long have you been breaking into my apartment?”

“A couple days. That bother you?”

“No..I broke into your house. I’ll get you a key made tomorrow.”

He snorted a chuckle into her hair.

“See that’s pretty brave. Giving someone like me a key to your place.”

“Well if you’re gonna come over anyways…”

He chuckled again and sat up.

“Where are you going?” Karen asked. (She mentally scolded herself for asking that fast).

Frank grinned.

“Just gettin’ under the covers, if I’m gonna stay don’t wanna sleep on top of ‘em.”

Frank slid under the covers, and once again pulled Karen to him, but properly this time, no sheets to separate them. His chest pressed firm against her back. One arm was around her waist, the other under her head.

“You don’t waste time getting comfortable do you?”

“Sorry. Habit.”

Frank started to move away but he stopped when Karen asked him not to. “No no.. don’t stop please…what habit?”

“Wife.”

“Frank I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking.”

“I forget sometimes ya know? What it’s like to hold a beautiful woman.”

“You think I’m beautiful?”

He squeezed her waist as his answer. He felt goosebumps rise up on the little sliver of skin on her stomach his calloused hand touched.

“Goodnight Karen.”

A smile spread across her face. She was going to get him that key as soon as she woke up in the morning.

xx

When Karen woke, Frank was still there.

He was snoring softly in her ear. Her bare legs were tangled with his jean clad legs. Her head was still on his bicep, and his hand had found its way underneath her shirt, fingers spread and palm flat against her belly. She felt his chest move as he breathed against her chest.

Oh yeah. She was getting him that key today.


End file.
